Thursday, July 11, 2013

The cheap Chicago hustler

During the weeks of debates triggered by Edward Snowden and his
release of information about a classified National Security Agency
spying program, the story has moved further and further from the actual
surveillance and centered instead on the international cat-and-mouse
game to find him.

What has been remarkable
is how Democrats have expressed little opposition to the surveillance
program. Many Democrats have simply remained silent as these revelations
have emerged while others, like California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, have openly defended the program.

President Barack Obama,
while initially acknowledging the need for a proper balance between
civil liberties and national security, has increasingly focused on
defending the government and targeting Snowden. When former President
George W. Bush offered comments that echoed much of the president's
sentiment, some of his supporters couldn't help but cringe as these two
one-time adversaries came together on the issue of counterterrorism.

The loss of a Democratic
opposition to the framework of counterterrorism policy has been one of
the most notable aspects of Obama's term in office.

It really is something to watch people give up everything they believe in, every belief, every principle for a man.

As a woman and as a feminist, it honestly repulses me.

But I've been disgusted for several years now.

Remember when Ms. magazine put Barack on the cover in 2009 with the lie that 'this is what feminism looks like'?

So the press has whored and encouraged people to think Barack was their friend.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013. Chaos and violence continue, new political
alliances are formed in Baghdad, Bradley Manning's defense rests, the
State Dept continues to obsess over Iraq, Iraq War veteran Adam Kokesh
is targeted, and more.

AP reports
today that the Pentagon is considering eliminating danger pay for many
troops stationed around the world in order to save money. The report
notes, "Under the plans being discussed, troops would still receive the
extra
money if they serve in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Pakistan,
Syria, Yemen and in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. The U.S. does not have any
military members now serving in Iran."

Monday April 5,
2010, WikiLeaks released
military video of a July 12, 2007 assault in Iraq. 12 people were
killed in the assault including two Reuters journalists Namie Noor-Eldeen and
Saeed Chmagh. Monday June 7,
2010, the US military announced that they had arrested Bradley
Manning and he stood accused of being the leaker of the video. Leila Fadel
(Washington Post) reported in August 2010 that Manning had
been charged -- "two charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The
first encompasses four counts of violating Army regulations by transferring
classified information to his personal computer between November and May and
adding unauthorized software to a classified computer system. The second
comprises eight counts of violating federal laws governing the handling of
classified information." In March, 2011, David S. Cloud
(Los Angeles Times) reported
that the military has added 22 additional counts to the charges including one
that could be seen as "aiding the enemy" which could result in the death penalty
if convicted. The Article 32 hearing took place in December. At the start of
this year, there was an Article 32 hearing and, February 3rd, it was announced
that the government would be moving forward with a court-martial. Bradley has
yet to enter a plea. The court-martial was supposed to begin before the November 2012 election but it was
postponed until after the election so that Barack wouldn't have to run on a
record of his actual actions. Independent.ie adds, "A court martial is set to be held in June at Ford Meade in Maryland,
with supporters treating him as a hero, but opponents describing him as a
traitor." February 28th, Bradley admitted he leaked to WikiLeaks. And why.

Bradley Manning: In attempting to conduct counter-terrorism or CT and
counter-insurgency COIN operations we became obsessed with capturing and
killing human targets on lists and not being suspicious of and avoiding
cooperation with our Host Nation partners, and ignoring the second and
third order effects of accomplishing short-term goals and missions. I
believe that if the general public, especially the American public, had
access to the information contained within the CIDNE-I and CIDNE-A
tables this could spark a domestic debate on the role of the military
and our foreign policy in general as [missed word] as it related to Iraq
and Afghanistan.
I also believed the detailed analysis of the data over a long period of
time by different sectors of society might cause society to reevaluate
the need or even the desire to even to engage in counterterrorism and
counterinsurgency operations that ignore the complex dynamics of the
people living in the effected environment everyday.

Had the US government shown the same concern, Bradley wouldn't have had
to step up. Instead, they gladly supported Nouri al-Maliki in torture
and that's what Brad's exposures really prove. This took place under
Barack Obama's administration. When the dots are connected, it's
obvious what the White House has so feared for so long.

While Manning’s defense team made arguments Monday presenting his
decision to leak classified documents as motivated by concern for the
well-being of the United States, its military, and the Iraqi people,
Lind’s ruling prevents the defense from basing their case on the
defendant’s principled opposition to US policies.On Monday, the defense called Lauren McNamara, a woman who
corresponded with Manning during the period when he made the leaks. She
testified that he was “concerned with saving the lives of families in
foreign countries” and that he “considered human life to be valuable
above all.” McNamara quoted from her correspondence with Manning,
reading his statement that was “concerned about making sure that
everyone, soldiers, marines, contractors, even the local nationals, get
home to their families.”US Army sergeant David Sadtler, who oversaw Manning’s intelligence
work, testified that Manning was angered by the jailing of 15 Iraqi
civilians, with US approval, for distributing written material
criticizing the government. “He was upset at the situation,” Sadtler
said. Previously, Manning stated before the court that the Iraqis
involved had no ties to the armed resistance against the US occupation,
and that their materials contained a “scholarly critique” of the current
regime.Manning’s pre-trial statement shows that he was motivated by a
growing consciousness of the criminal character of US foreign policy. In
the statement, delivered to the military judge in February, the soldier
asserted that his actions were intended to initiate a process of
“worldwide discussion, debates, and reforms.”Referring to politically motivated roundups carried out with full US
support by the Iraqi regime, Manning said, “I knew that if I continued
to assist the Baghdad Federal Police in identifying the political
opponents of Prime Minister al-Maliki, those people would be arrested
and in the custody of the Baghdad Federal Police and very likely
tortured and not seen again for a very long time, if ever.”

Manning has not, did not, and today told the court he will not testify in his court martial.
The defense rested its case today after having called a total of ten witnesses in the trial. The last was Yochai Benkler, a Harvard professor who is the author a widely-cited paper
on the role WikiLeaks plays in what he terms "the networked fourth
estate." In his testimony for the defense today, he described Wikileaks
as having played a legitimate role in a new world of journalism; he
argued that the government's characterization of the group as an
Anti-American espionage front was inaccurate."

WikiLeaks is "a clear distinct component of what in the history of
journalism we see as high points, where journalists are able to come in
and say, 'Here's a system operating in a way that is obscure to the
public and now we're able to shine the light,'" said Benkler, the
co-director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society.

Brad Knickerbocker (Christian Science Monitor) observes, "The essence of Pfc. Bradley Manning’s
defense in his military court martial is that, yes, he released a trove
of classified data to the controversial whistle-blower organization
WikiLeaks, but that information did not seriously harm US national
security – and it certainly did not aid the enemy in the war on
terrorism." RT notes, "The soldier’s court-martial is now recessed until next week, at
which point government prosecutors plan to offer a rebuttal. Col.
Denise Lind, the presiding military judge in the case, also is
expected to weigh in next week on the defense’s recent request
that the government acquit Pfc. Manning on four of the more than
20 counts he has been charged with, including aiding the enemy."

SRSG Martin Kobler's message to the Iraqi people for the holy month of Ramadan

Baghdad, 10 July 2013
- As Muslims around the world are observing the holy month of Ramadan, I
would like to wish a blessed and peaceful month to all Iraqis on behalf
of the entire UN family in Iraq. Ramadan is a time of devotion and harmony, a time of charity and forgiveness.

The country has been struck by an increasing number of attacks and
great violence during the past weeks and months. May the spirit of
Ramadan bring peace and the hope for a better future to all Iraqi
communities.

Ramadan Mubarak!

One of the big stories in Iraq since last week has been the Under-20 World Cup. Marcus Ghristenson (Guardian) reports:On the Saturday night, Ali Yaseen was part of the Iraq
squad that stunned Chile to reach the last 16 of the Under-20 World Cup
in Turkey. On Sunday morning his club back in Iraq, Karbala, announced
that their coach, Mohammed Abbas al-Jabouri, had died from the injuries
suffered in an attack by anti-terrorism police during a match the
previous weekend.Yaseen, 19, had taken his place on the bench for
the game in the knowledge that his coach was in a coma and that seven
of his team-mates had been injured in the attack, several of them
critically. He knew, too, that if he had not been selected for the
Under-20 World Cup, he would most probably have been playing in the
match against Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya and could, quite possibly, have ended up
in hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Ali Adnan, an experienced senior international for Iraq, netted the
opening goal with an absolutely stunning free kick, scoring his second
goal of the tournament. It appeared that he would attempt to play an
in-swinging cross on a free kick from the right flank, 30 yards from
goal, but instead he opted to rip a bending shot towards the top corner
at the near post. Uruguay keeper Guillermo De Amores actually saw and
reacted to the shot well, but it was so well placed and it with so much
power that he had no chance to make a save.Uruguay had a number of good chances throughout the match, but
struggled to make the most of them. Iraq goalkeeper Mohammed Hameed was
erratic, but ultimately very effective and made a number of big saves
and clearances. However, he wasn't able to keep a clean sheet. In the
87th minute, Felipe Avenatti won a header in a crowd and nodded down to
Gonzalo Bueno, who finished from 12 yards to level the match and force
extra time.

All Iraq News notes
that Ali Adnan and Mohamed Hamid were injured when they crashed into
one another and that the game "was suspended to transport the two Iraqi
players for treatment, then they returned to the field."

Eric Willemsen (AP) explains,
"Streets
and cafes in Baghdad and other cities were the scene of jubilant
celebrations after the wins over Paraguay and South Korea, but the
streets remained calm on Wednesday. Iraq also drew a lot of Turkish
fans, who switched allegiance after the host team lost in the first
knockout round." This was the first time in 12 years
that Iraq had qualified for the semi-finals so despite today's outcome,
this was a historic victory for them. In addition to having to compete
in the match, they also had to deal today with rumors that sought to
disqualify the team. Eric Williemsen (AP) reports
that FIFA cleared them today of charges that any member of their team
was 21 or older (which would make them too old to compete).

NINA notes
four football fields were closed in Diyala Province today after threats
were received that they would be the latest football fields to bombed
in Iraq. All Iraq News notes the British Embassy in Iraq issued a statement and quotes British
Foreign Minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt, stating, "I am
sickened to hear of the recent attacks in Iraq targeting people playing
and watching football and other sports. My prayers go out to the
families of those who have been injured or lost their lives in these
cowardly attacks." On violence, the United Nations' Francesco Motta told AFP today, "Iraq is really at a crossroads. I wouldn't say we're at a civil war yet, but the figures are not looking good."

On the political front, Hamza Mustafa (Asharq al-Awsat) reports: Sadr Movement leader Moqtada Al-Sadr has announced a new alliance
with the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) led by Ammar Al-Hakim,
describing it as a “strategic” alliance. In reply to a question from one of his followers about doubts in the
alliance between the Sadrist Al-Ahrar Bloc and the ISCI’s Al-Muwatin
Bloc, Sadr said: “Many people have tried to end this alliance and make
it a failure in any way they could.” He added: “This alliance strengthens the Iraqi, national, Islamic
Shi’ite alliance,” and “makes the political arena fairer and removes
domination and monopoly.” This alliance brings together the two most important Shi’ite factions
in Iraq following an experiment that seems to be somewhat of a success
on the local level, namely the sharing of power in a number of Iraq’s
governorates, particularly Baghdad. This experiment has seen a
Sadrist-ISCI coalition defeat Iraqi prime minister Nuri Al-Maliki’s
State of Law (SLC) coalition, which had monopolized the most important
posts in the capital, including that of governor and head of the
governorate council, for more than eight years.

All Iraq News notes
that the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq's Adel Abdulmahdi met today
with Kurdistan Regional Government Massoud Barzani in Erbil where the
two discussed the political situation in Iraq.

Good afternoon and happy
Fourth of July! 237 years ago, our
Founding Fathers risked everything to embark on an unprecedented democratic
experiment under which the United States of America put into practice the revolutionary
concept that rulers “derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.” The lofty ideals adopted in Independence Hall
in Philadelphia in 1776 included one of the most recognized and important phrases
ever penned: “We hold these
truths to be self-evident, that all
men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”It is an ideal toward which we
continuously strive. Throughout these two
hundred and thirty seven years of independence we have in practice sometimes fallen
short of that ideal. We have, however, never
wavered in our commitment to the principles of liberty and equality enshrined
in the Declaration of Independence, and our democracy has proven itself durable
and resilient, able to correct its mistakes and stay true to the principle that
all men – and women – are created equal.
For example, our nation, born accepting slavery, now has an African
American president. Our latest Congress
has welcomed a record number of women into its ranks. And so, as President
Obama has so eloquently stated:“On this day, we celebrate our founding creed
that what binds this Nation together is not the colors of our skin, the tenets
of our faith, or the origins of our name. What makes us American is our
allegiance to an idea first declared in a spare hall in Philadelphia-that all
of us are created equal. This idea guides us still, and calls on us to
carry into an uncertain future the precious light of freedom.”Iraq is an ancient
civilization and a young democracy. And,
like all democracies, Iraq faces challenges as it strives to take its rightful
political and economic place. Blessed
with abundant natural resources, a smart and hard working population, and the
will to be a nation, Iraq can overcome its challenges and obstacles and cement
its singular national identity. In this respect, both Iraq and the United States,
and indeed all democratic nations, are on the same quest to “form a more
perfect union.” God bless America, God bless Iraq, and God bless freedom and
democracy.

QUESTION: --
yesterday, the Spanish Foreign Minister said that the United States had,
in fact, alerted his country, or his government, to the suspicion that
Mr. Snowden might be on the plane of the Bolivian President. Is that –
is he correct in saying that?

MS. PSAKI: I don’t believe that was his exact quote, if I’m correct. I believe he said "in part," or the Spanish version.

QUESTION: He said "Inter alia," which means "among other things."

MS. PSAKI: So I just don’t have anything new --

QUESTION: Is it --

MS. PSAKI: -- or further for you on this.

QUESTION: Okay. So you don’t have any comment on whether he is accurate or not – that comment is accurate?

MS. PSAKI: Just that we’ve had a range of conversations --

QUESTION: Okay.

MS. PSAKI: -- on a broad range of aspects of Mr. Snowden.

QUESTION: Do you – but you do believe
that the Administration has a solid legal case for the deportation and
then prosecution of Mr. Snowden, correct?

MS. PSAKI: Well, obviously --

QUESTION: I mean, he has been charged, so --

MS. PSAKI: He has been charged.

QUESTION: And you believe that you are in the --

MS. PSAKI: Obviously, there – well,
this is a broader question, I think, that there are some countries where
we have extradition treaties --

QUESTION: Right.

MS. PSAKI: -- some we don’t, which you all know, and it’s all public information.

QUESTION: Right. But you think you
have a – in a case where there’s no extradition treaty, you still think
that you have the solid case to ask for him to be deported in return to
the United States because he’s a fugitive from justice. Is that
correct?

MS. PSAKI: And he does not have a valid U.S. passport.

QUESTION: Okay. Why don’t you have the guts then, to say – not you personally, but the Administration --

MS. PSAKI: I may, you never know. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: -- to say – well, okay – why
don’t you have the guts to admit that you have asked countries, or you
have alerted countries to the fact – that you did alert countries to the
fact that there were suspicions that Snowden was on this plane, and
remind them that he’s wanted in the States?

MS. PSAKI: Well, we certainly have had
a broad range of conversations about him, about how we want his return,
him to be returned, about communicating with countries where he may be
in transit. I’m just not going to get into all the specifics of those
conversations.

QUESTION: Yeah, but I don’t understand
why it is that this is so taboo. Why is it that it has got to be
secret, as secretive as a FISA court decision, that you told countries
that you thought he might be on this plane and ask them to take steps to
comply with your wish that he be deported and returned to the United
States?

MS. PSAKI: Because we’re keeping our diplomatic --

QUESTION: But that’s --

MS. PSAKI: -- conversations private in this case.

QUESTION: Well, I – if you really do
have such a solid case and you think countries should – I mean, you
should be happy to talk about it publicly. Otherwise, it just reeks of
this secrecy that you – that the Administration claims --

MS. PSAKI: Well, Matt, we have --

QUESTION: -- it isn’t involved in.

MS. PSAKI: -- spoken – we have spoken quite extensively publicly
about how we would like to see him returned and the reasons why.

QUESTION: Yeah. Fair enough, but in
this specific instance which involved countries in Europe denying
overflight rights to the plane of a head of state, I don’t understand
why, if your case is strong, you’re not willing to come out and say,
"Yeah, we asked for it." Why?

MS. PSAKI: We’re keeping our diplomatic conversations private.

QUESTION: Jen --

MS. PSAKI: Let me just – can I do one more Snowden thing?

QUESTION: Yeah --

MS. PSAKI: Because somebody asked
about this yesterday. In the question of passports, if a passport is
revoked – so when the Department revokes a passport, that revocation
affects all passports in the individual’s name.

QUESTION: So the question was: Is there a second – does he – is he in possession of a second passport?

MS. PSAKI: I just can’t get into
confirmation of that, but I can tell you that any – the revocation of a
passport is applicable to any passport in any individual’s name.

Heidi Boghosian: Michael, I understand Jim Lafferty is with you to
talk with us briefly about how the lines are continuing to blur between
law enforcement and the military.Michael Smith: Jim Lafferty has The Lawyers Guild Show in Los Angeles [KPFK, Thursdays at 3:00 pm PST]. In fact, it was his show that inspired us. Jim is the organizer of the National Lawyer's Guild in Los Angeles.
Jim, welcome to east coast Law and Disorder. Jim, I wanted to ask you
because I know you've interviewed somebody knowledgble about this and
have read the provisions, there's a new United States military power
grab that's gone into effect and can you tell our listeners what this
means?Jim Lafferty: Yeah, let me just borrow your glasses for a moment if I
may, Michael. Yeah, it's -- Of course, the Civil Rights, civil
liberties crowd have, for some decades now, has been concerned about the
militarization of local policing. It isn't just the style of policing
that our local police do now that they've learned at the hands of the
military but, of course, they also have the equipment as well -- the
military equipment as well. We've seen that used in various occasions
at the times of protests around the Democratic Party or the Republican
Party, for example, convention n New York. Well, not satisfied with
that, there is a new regulation that has been put into effect that
essentially allows the military to intervene in contravention of decades
of law and policy and practice to the contrary of intervening in
domestic unrest, civil disputes, civil unrest. And, in fact, what is
says is that the federal military commanders now have the authority, in
extraordinary circumstances, where prior authorization by the president
is not possible and duly constructed local authorities are somehow
deemed to be unable to control the situation, the military can engage in
activities that are "necessary to quell large scale unexpected civil
disturbances.

That's worth remembering when you review what's happened to Adam
Kokesh. Adam is an Iraq War veteran and someone who spoke out against
the war when he returned to the US. He's taken part in many activities
that the left and the faux left -- which is a much larger number of
people but fakes usually outnumber the real in any given situation --
applauded. Adam's home was raided by the police last night. Presumably
it has something to do with a July 4th action by Adam. From the July 5th snapshot:

The
Metropolitan Police Department and US Park Police are aware that today
Adam Kokesh posted a video that appears to have been taken in Freedom
Plaza in Northwest, DC. We are in the process of determining the
authenticity of the video.

Second Amendment activist Adam Kokesh was arrested Tuesday evening
following an armed raid on his home in the Washington, D.C. area.
Police have charged Kokesh, 31, with possession of a Schedule I
or Schedule II drug while also in possession of a firearm.
According to the Washington Post, charging documents filed in
court Wednesday morning said that hallucinogenic mushrooms, a
Schedule I narcotic, were found in the raid.

As for last night's raid, here's the press release Adam Vs. The Man sent out this morning:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:AVTM Official Press Release
RE: Raid on ADAM VS THE MAN Studios 10JUL13
(HERNDON, VA 10 JULY 2013)— On the evening of Tuesday, 09JUL13, at
approximately 7:45 PM, a combination of US Parks Police (an arm of the
DHS) raided Adam Kokesh’s residence. Local Herndon police assisted in
the armed invasion. The officers used a battering ram to knock in the
door after two knocks, and did not announce that they had a warrant.
Immediately after breaking down the door, a flash bang grenade was
deployed in the foyer.Numerous police vehicles, including a light armored vehicle and two
low-flying helicopters barricaded Adam’s street. More than 20 armored
SWAT team members surrounded the house, as well as a number of
detectives, and plainclothes officers. Assault rifles were aimed on all
members of the team as they were handcuffed without being told why they
were detained. Masked and armored police in full “Storm Trooper” gear
flooded in and ransacked the residence. The team was cordoned in a front
room, while Adam was pulled aside for questioning.Over the course of the next five hours, the police searched every
corner of the house with canine units and blueprints to the house
obtained prior to the search. All officers refused to speak to the crew
while they we being detained. They confiscated cell phones and personal
items with force. Throughout the ordeal, the police repeatedly showed a
volatile desire to initiate aggressive, forceful conduct with detainees.
At one point, Adam politely requested to use the restroom and was
kicked by the officer forcing him to sit handcuffed on the floor. After
hours of determined attempts, the safe was forced open and all items
inside were confiscated. Adam was arrested and his crew were told he was
being brought to the Herndon Police department overnight. Well after
midnight, police officers cleared the house.Fairfax County Adult Detention Center has stated that it has Adam in custody.The ADAM VS THE MAN Team will be continuing production on the podcast
and the Youtube channel as long as Adam remains imprisoned for an act
of civil disobedience. We will continue to spread the message of
liberty, self ownership, and the non-aggression principle regardless of
the government’s relentless attacks on our operation. We will continue
to combat its desperate attempts to crush a worldwide, revolutionary
shift in the people’s understanding of the state’s illegitimacy—after
all, good ideas don’t require force.Media Contact: Lucas Jewell – lucas@adamvstheman.com

Far be it from us to believe a word out of Kokesh’s mouth without confirmation, and this is all from his own press release. But that said,
one of the trends in law enforcement, particularly since 9/11 NEVAH
FORGET!!!!, has been the increasing militarization of police forces all
over the country. Salon has been excerpting Radley Balko’s new book on the subject, Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America’s Police Forces and it is quite frightening. Go buy it and learn something, and give yr Wonkette some monies while you’re at it!

There are a number of issues here that should have those of us on the
left (the real left) outraged. The faux left is laughing at and
attacking Adam Kokesh. That's why efforts at bridge building fail
repeatedly. Useless people -- like Kat's BFF Kevin Zeese
-- repeatedly claim that they want to build bridges and put together a
left-right coalition that can address issues like war and civil
liberties. But when they have the opportunity to lay the actual
groundwork for such a bridge to be built, they're either silent when
they should be speaking out or they're mocking the victim.

Adam has a public history of activism. It does not include violence.
The way the police responded was outrageous. It's the sort of response
that Gore Vidal -- and usually only Gore -- would call out while others
on the left remained silent. There was nothing in Adam's history to
indicate that he would respond in violence. If the cowards -- and
that's what the police involved were -- had been too scared to knock on
Adam's door and wait for him to open it, they could have stayed at the
curb and used a bullhorn.

I am not anti-police and I do understand fears peace officers can have.
But part of police work is information and any effort to be informed
about Adam should have resulted in discovering the fact that he is not
prone to violence -- even when he's being body slammed (as happened last
year) by DC police.

It was cowardly and it may have been profiling. I'm not joking about
that. It's a serious issue. Here we usually note 1 in 10 of the
heavily reported stories on a veteran who's done something violent. We
do that because I am not trying to create the image of 'crazy vet.' I
don't think the media is trying to (or that they tried to during
Vietnam) but that image can set in and it can be dangerous -- for peace
officers and veterans.

Adam served in Iraq. Were these excessive and appalling measures --
breaking down the door, using a grenade, etc. -- used because, as a
veteran, police feared he would go 'psycho'?

I don't know. But that question needs to be asked because -- like every
portion of the US population -- veterans interact with peace officers.
If law enforcement -- a portion, even just a small number -- are acting
on delusional stereotypes that veteran equates crazy, that's an issue
that effects the whole country. (Many commenting on Media Matters' post
about the arrest advance this false stereotype -- although at least a
few seem to be more motivated by concern and compassion. Even so, they
should take a look at what they're suggesting.)

If this had nothing to do with such an image, then the police need to
explain why such excessive force was used -- including two helicopters
hovering over his home -- on a peaceful activist?

Molly Redden hops a high horse
apparently forgetting that she has no credit to her name to be proud of
despite all that time writing for Slate, and she's writing for The New Republic. The New Republic(an)
was a cheerleader for the Iraq War. It regularly and repeatedly
smeared those who spoke out against the illegal war. Molly Redden is
cheap trash (with weird interests but we won't help spread the rumors)
and yet she believes she's standing on a high ground from which she can
attack Adam.

Molly, you may not approve of his 2007 DC action but it was street
theater and the fact that you're ignorant of that or ignorant of the
fact that a similar action took place in NYC during Vietnam or that the
Supreme Court got dragged into it and ruled that street theater was
Constitutionally protected speech does not excuse you but goes to how
your gross ignorance should probably prevent you from writing about any
topic -- other than your own personal problems. Your ignorance, your
gross stupidity, does not allow you to smear or attack the 2007 action.
But it is in keeping with The New Republic(an) and its never ending war on peace activists. Not a lot of women manage to leave The New Republic for something better. That's because most of the women at TNR over
the last few decades have attempted to out 'macho' the men and created
awful images for themselves. Molly's doing that right now so don't
expect her to have anywhere to go until she announces her conversion to
Republican and goes to work for something like The American Spectator. Then again, she probably can't make it at the Spectator either:Thankfully, it's not a consequence-free publicity stunt. In the telling of a press release
on Kokesh's website, last night, police used a battering ram to knock
down his door and trained assault rifles on him as he was led out of his
house in handcuffs. He could spend up to a year in prison. To Kokesh,
it must feel like Christmas.

A 'reporter' who can't nail down basic facts isn't much of a reporter.
Forget that she's amused by what she should be calling out, the press
release was posted to the site at 4:00 AM EST -- I know that because
when it was e-mailed to this site, a few minutes later, it was noted
that it had just been posted. Her link goes to the website and though
there is no time given there, a date is posted -- today's date.

How stupid do you have to be to not understand that today, July 10th, is not "last night"?

By the way, Molly, I don't 'sing the hits' over and over. As a result, The New Republic
has fallen off my radar. I've offered several years of criticism of
that rag and, having done so, was ready for new songs to sing. But
thanks to Molly, I've discovered that the failed rag is now
unintentionally seeking to go out of publication and we'll be covering
that at Third (either this Sunday or next -- we have to do the summer read fiction edition and that may be this Sunday). You and The New Republic(an) can
thank yourself for the humiliation that's coming. Considering the fact
that the already low circulation under Bully Boy Bush has only fallen
further, I'm not sure how much more humiliation your rag can take.

The arrest prompts the readers of the DCist to launch an attack on Herndon
which is not a bad city (my DC home is not in Herndon for any that
wonder). Why is it that when an incident occurs -- this or any other --
some people think they are being 'helpful' by spreading hate? I have
no idea.

RT quotes Adam declaring earlier this week, "I was here, and I loaded a shotgun on Independence Day, but I
didn't kill anybody. I didn't drone any children. I didn't steal any children's future. I didn't sell this
country into debt. I didn't do any of the crimes that the man two
blocks over at the White House is responsible for."

I also don't know about Susan's post at On the Edge.
I can follow what she's saying. I tried reading the article she linked
to and it just made my migraine worse. The author is referring to a
reaction to an earlier article but can't tell us what that article said
and is too busy reliving college instead of setting up the discussion. I
like Susan, I think she's an important writer on a great many topics
(and I don't think anyone can match her -- blogger, reporter,
journalist, whatever -- for the great work she's done writing about the
US education system and the efforts to dismantle it). But I disagree
with her thoughts on transgender people -- thoughts that include:

I don't think people should be ostracized or condemned for being screwed
up with identity issues, but I will damned if I am going to accept
somebody living a lie as the truth. I simply don't think "reassignment" surgery to correct a psychological problem is ethical.

In fairness to Susan, some transgendered persons in the 70s were known
for attacking feminism and she may or may be aware of that and it may
have created bad blood. (She doesn't need an excuse for how she feels
but I do want to note that reality.) I wish she hadn't written what she
did. Glad she was honest but it reminds me of the mid-seventies, after
the DSM had changed their 'diagnosis' of gay people, when some
otherwise very bright people wrote commentaries that were homophobic.

Transgender is not a passing emotion or a fleeting thought. Gender
reassignment surgery is not like getting a tattoo. A very good friend (Shirley MacLaine)
got into some minor hot water over her latest book by people who did
not understand what she was writing. They wrongly thought she was
condemning gays, lesbians and transgendered people. She was not. She
believes in reincarnation and she was exploring how you are born the way
you are and that, for example, you may be carrying desires from a past
life. It was an interesting exercise she was proposing (and more than
an exercise if you are spiritual and your faith includes embracing
reincarnation) and because of her long support for LGBT issues (when
most celebrities were running from the topic, Shirley's always been
willing to call out homophobia -- we're going back to pre-Stonewall
even) most were able to follow through on what she was writing and grasp
that this was not intended as an attack on anyone but an exploration of
reincarnation. (The book was I'm Over All Of That and Ava and I reviewed it here.)

From what Susan's written, I'm understanding (rightly or wrongly) her
objection being that transgender reinforces gender stereotypes. If that
is correct, I would argue that a transgendered person who is a woman
-- as a number of famous transgendered persons who have had gender
reassignment surgery to have the outside reflect the woman that they are
inside -- has every right to want a frilly life. By frilly life I'm
referring to public stating that they just want to keep a home and to
find a man to marry and let him take charge.

I don't subscribe to that as an ideal or desire. Most women I know do
not. But some women do. And some women that do were born with female
anatomy. They have the right to choose what they want -- they also have
the right to be aware that whatever they choose there are a multitude
of options for women in terms of the lives they lead. That's what
feminism has been about -- explaining the options women have. It is not
surprising that, just as a woman can get caught up in gender roles, a
transgendered person can as well. The movement always knew that
informing women was only half the battle, you also had to inform men.
So the notion that transgendered persons would somehow escape that
societal programming that targets everyone in our society seems
unlikely.

Susan's a strong writer and a good writer but we disagree on this
issue. (That's in response to thirty-three e-mails asking if I'd
comment on this.) I would never seek out a partner to dominate me but
if you are a woman and want that, if you are a man and want that, if you
are a transgendered person and want that, your desires are as valid as
mine and more power to you. (Most transgendered persons are not into
living extreme gender stereotypes; however, a number of 'macho' men who
had gender reassignment surgery in the 70s and went public with
interviews and/or books helped establish that stereotype.) The only
humanity crime I see is deliberately setting out to be unhappy in life
and I don't need everyone to agree with me in order to see their lives
as valid or fulfilling.